“It’s unheard of — giving another government access to asylum seekers,” he told the ABC.

“If a person is found to be a citizen of a safe third country, that person will not be accepted as a refugee and will be returned home, so that’s the role of the legal process, not the role of bringing in another government to do that.

“It’s deeply problematic and I don’t think it’s fair. I question whether it is legal, and we have a legal process to deal with those questions.” Mr Karapanagiotidis said he expects the High Court challenge to the detention of the 157 asylum seekers will still go ahead even though the government believes it has short-circuited the case by bringing the 157 mainly Sri Lankan asylum seekers ashore.

“I think you are going to see lawyers for the asylum seekers say, `well actually we are nowhere near having guarantees and protections because we could still see people sent back to a country (India) that is not a signatory (to the UN Refugee Convention) or sent back to Sri Lanka’,” he said.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison confirmed yesterday that 150 Tamil asylum seekers and seven other people being held on a Customs ship for nearly a month are being transferred to the Australian mainland.

They will be held until Indian consular officials have had the opportunity to speak to them about their possible return.

“It is our intention those who can be returned should and must be returned,” Mr Morrison said.

India has agreed to take back any of its citizens and will consider taking Sri Lankan nationals who are Indian non-citizen residents.

Mr Morrison was forced to clarify the status of the boat after The Guardian reported the Australian border protection vessel carrying 157 Tamil asylum seekers was on its way to the Australian territory of the Cocos Islands, where the department of immigration plans to transfer the asylum seekers to immigration detention.

While the location of the boat is still unknown, senior sources told The Guardian that the government plans to take the asylum seekers to Curtin detention centre in Western Australia, not Christmas Island.

“The customs vessel carrying the asylum seekers will land on the Cocos Islands on Saturday,” The Guardian stated.

Mr Morrison refused to confirm the location of where the boat will be sent, saying it was “still subject to operational consideration”.

Instead, Mr Morrison said the decision to have Indian consular officials assess the asylum seekers sent a message that “Australia and India are engaged to stop you.”